BERLIN (AP) -- Otfried Preussler, a bestselling German children’s author who created “The Robber Hotzenplotz” and “The Little Witch” books, has died. He was 89.
Japan probe finds miswiring of Boeing 787 battery on ANA flight that made emergency landing
TOKYO – A probe into the overheating of a lithium ion battery in an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 found it was improperly wired, Japan’s Transport Ministry said Wednesday.
NATO and Afghan forces kill 25 insurgents
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan and coalition forces say they have killed at least 25 insurgents and at least three of their commanders in separate operations around the country in the past two days. Iran nuke unlikely to start Mideast arms race: report
RIYADH (Reuters) – Fears that an Iranian nuclear weapon might trigger an atomic arms race across the Middle East are overplayed, a U.S. security thinktank said on Tuesday, arguing that countries like Saudi Arabia face big disincentives against getting the bom b. Western powers believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon under cover of a civilian atomic electricity program, a charge Tehran denies. … Chinese dare officials to swim in polluted rivers
BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese businessman angry about a filthy river has come up with an equally dirty dare: He’ll give an environmental official about $32,000 just for swimming in the polluted waterway.
Police oppose bail for Pistorius
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Killing suspect Oscar Pistorius is a flight risk and should not be granted bail, South African police argued in court Wednesday. China's environmental officials challenged to swim in polluted rivers for cash
BEIJING, China – A Chinese businessman angry about a filthy river has come up with an equally dirty dare: He’ll give an environmental official about $32,000 just for swimming in the polluted waterway.
Greece hit by general strike against austerity
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Thousands of anti-austerity demonstrators took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday as unions staged a general strike to protest the government's spending cuts and tax hikes, which some predict will push unemployment to a stunning 30 percent this year. Police: Testosterone found in Pistorius' bedroom
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Police say they found two boxes of testosterone and needles in the bedroom of Oscar Pistorius’ bedroom, but his defense lawyer says it was an “herbal remedy” and not a banned substance.
Syrian regime: Aleppo airport still in army hands
BEIRUT (AP) -- The Syrian regime says the airport in the battleground northern city of Aleppo is still under military control and "safe" from r ebels fighting to capture it. British shoppers may pay high price from horsemeat scandal
LONDON (Reuters) – For Britons worried last week's beef lasagne was in fact a helping of horse, peace of mind that such a meal will never reach dining tables again may come at a price. Livestock specialists say that contrary to some public comments by supermarke ts, ensuring a chain of quality from farm to table will cost money – particularly at the cheaper, ready-made meal end. "How can you supply a meal for two people for a pound," said Andrew Hyde, managing director of British meat supplier Traymoor. … Horsemeat labelled as beef found in Czech frozen food products
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Horsemeat labelled as beef has been found in some frozen products in the Czech Republic for the first time, the country’s food inspection authority said on Wednesday. DNA tests showed two batches of frozen Nowaco Lasagne Bolognese in a branch of the Tesco supermarket chain in the western city of Pilsen contained horsemeat, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority said. Luxembourg was listed as the country of origin, the authority said on its website. It said it had ordered the supermarket to withdraw the products immediately from stores across the country. …
Bulgarian gov't resigns after violent protests
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Bulgaria's government resigned Wednesday after days of violent protests fueled by outrage over rising energy costs, corruption and a general economic decline in what is already the European Union's poorest nation. Mali: French troop pullout to start within weeks
PARIS (AP) -- France's defense minister says French troop units will start pulling out of Mali within weeks, despite new clashes and challenges in rooting out armed extremists in the West African country. Russia, Arab League push for Syria conflict talks
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia and the Arab League are offering to broker talks between the Syrian government and the opposition to end the country’s two-year civil war.
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria's government resigned from office on Wednesday after nationwide protests against high electricity p rices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov had tried to calm protests by sacking his finance minister, pledging to cut power prices and punish foreign-owned companies but the measures failed to defuse discontent and protests continued on Tuesday. Many Bulgarians are deeply unhappy over high energy costs, power monopolies, low living standards and corruption in the European Union's poorest country. … 
AMRITSAR, India (Reuters) – David Cameron on Wednesday became the fir st serving British prime minister to voice regret about one of the bloodiest episodes in colonial India, a massacre of unarmed civilians in the city of Amritsar in 1919. The killings, known in India as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, were described by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian independence movement, as having shaken the foundations of the British Empire. A group of soldiers opened fire on an unarmed crowd without warning in the northern Indian city after a period of unrest, killing hundreds in cold blood. … 
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Anti-whaling act ivists called on Wednesday for Australia to send a naval vessel to the Southern Ocean after a confrontation in which they said a Japanese whaling ship collided with two of their protest vessels, damaging their flagship. "The Nisshin Maru has rammed the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, but both vessels continue to hold their positions," Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which runs the protest boats, said in a statement. … 
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani Shiites have buried 60 people killed in a bombing last weekend in the southwestern city of Quetta but the event was marred by gunfire as both protesters and police fired into the air. 
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Looking out across a room full of reporters gathered to welcome French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday, Greece's President Karolos Papoulias gave a stark warning about the state of the country after three harsh years of government spending cuts, joblessness and tax hikes. 
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek workers walked off the job on Wednesday in a nationwide protest against wage cuts and high taxes, keeping ferries docked in ports, shutting state schools and leaving hospitals working with emergency staff. Greece's two biggest labor unions brought much of the near-bankrupt country to a standstill during a 24-hour strike over the cuts, which they say only deepen the plight of a people struggling to get through the country's worst peacetime downturn. Representing about 2. … 
ROME (AP) -- If opinion polls are right, he's the man headed to win Italy's elections this month. 
ROME (Reuters) – Regardless of who wins next weekend's parliamentary election, Italy's long economic decline is likely to continue because the next government won't be strong enough to pursue the tough reforms needed to make its economy competitive again. Bankers, diplomats and industrialists in Rome and Milan despair at how Italians are shifting allegiances ahead of the February 24-25 vote to favor anti-establishment upstarts and show disgust with the established parties. … 
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Rebel fighters in Damascus are disciplined, skilled and brave. In a month on the frontline, I saw them defend a swathe of suburbs in the Syrian capital, mount complex mass attacks, manage logistics, treat their wounded – and die before my eyes. But as constant, punishingly accurate, mortar, tank and sniper fire attested, President Bashar al-Assad's soldiers on the other side, often just a room or a grenade toss away, are also well drilled, courageous – and much better armed. … 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Many Indian banks were closed and public transport disrupted on Wednesday because of a strike by trade unions protesting against high p rices but the capital, New Delhi, and business centre, Mumbai, were mostly unaffected and financial markets were open. Violence erupted in some places on the first day of a two-day strike as workers, angry about high fuel prices in particular, tried to keep vehicles off the roads. One union member was killed in the northern city of Ambala, media said. … 
LIMA (Reuters) – Humble crowds adore her populist gestures. Fans and critics alike call her the co-president. Her husband, a rebellious army officer turned moderate leader, says people who think his wife is too influential are sexist. Peru's first lady, Nadine Heredia, is a potent political force. A telegenic 36-year-old mother of three who started the Nationalist Party along with President Ollanta Humala, she weighs in on a range of policy issues behind the scenes and, in public, often serves as the government's messenger. …